Roz Ka Khana

Another healthful and delicious entry from Anusuya’s kitchen. I have never had luck with eggless baking so far, and the few times I have tried making cakes or breads without egg, they have either resembled pudding (I’m not kidding) or I’ve needed a heavy duty weapon to slice through the hardened sunk dough. A visit to Anusuya’s kitchen not only gave me a taste of delightful and very, very edible eggless muffins but she was gracious to give me the recipe. Tried it at home last week, and sure enough, the result was unbelievable…I was finally successful at eggless baking! These whole wheat banana bread muffins are eggless and full of goodness, made of 100% whole wheat flour. I also added a tbsp of flax seeds, for that extra boost of fiber. Here’s the recipe …

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour – 1 cup (heaped)

Brown sugar – 1 cup (packed)

Bananas – 3, mashed

Corn oil – 1/2 cup (You can also use olive oil – not extra virgin, but plain or canola oil here)

Baking soda – 1 tsp

Vanilla extract – 1 tbsp

Nuts (walnuts or pecans) – 2 tbsp

Flax seed meal – 1 tbsp (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350F

2. Mash the bananas with a fork. Add the brown sugar, vanilla extract and oil and mix well.

3. Sift the flour with the baking soda. Now slowly add the flour to the banana mixture a little at a time. (I used a Kitchenaid mixer to mix the flour with the banana here, but you can also just mix with a spatula manually until just combined.)

4. Fold in the nuts and the flax seeds.

5. Take a 12 cup muffin pan or a 24 cup mini muffin pan. Add a scoop of the batter each to each cup, with an ice cream scoop. (You can either line the cups with baking cups or spray with a non-stick spray before you add the batter)

6. Bake at 350F for 21-23 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Tip: If you’re like me, you almost always have over-ripe bananas in your kitchen, as I tend to buy more than we usually consume. One tip I will share that has worked with me is to freeze the over-ripe bananas. The skin of the fruit usually gets dark in the freezer but the taste remains unchanged. Good way to store the weekly stash of over-ripe bananas and keep the fruit flies from starting a family in your kitchen. When you need the bananas, just thaw them in the fridge overnight or for a few hours at room temperature.

I credit this recipe to my dear friend Uma. I have always thought that she  was good at adding the “Kerala touch” to her South indian recipes, now I can’t name that exact ingredient which provides that  flavor, so I just try to emulate her method of making the vazhakkai, mor kuzhambu etc to hopefully give it a similar taste.

Vazhakkai is also known as green banana or raw plantain and is famous in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, especially Kerala, home to many vazhakkai delicacies. I was never a big fan of vazhakkai growing up, as the few ways I’d eaten them was in a mushy mass with some coconut added. The other palatable variety was to eat it as a “fry” or chop the plantains in pieces and fry it the usual South Indian style, but again, it didn’t inspire me enough to ever debut this vegetable in my kitchen.

Uma’s method of making podimas was unique, at least to me, so I decided to try it for the first time a couple of weeks ago when I made mor kuzhambu (South Indian style kadhi). The result was a great, tasty twist to vazhakkai, definitely not that mushy mass, and a perfect accompaniment to mor kuzhambu. The only thing I will change when I make it again, is to not cook it for too long as it tends to get dry.

Ingredients:

Green bananas/plantains (available in the Indian grocery stores. Not to be confused with the yellow plantains) – 3

Turmeric powder – a pinch

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Urad dal – 1 tsp

Grated coconut – 2-3 tbsp

Green chilies – 3-4

Oil – 1 tbsp

1. Chop the bananas in half and cut off the ends.

2. Immerse them in water and bring to boil for a few minutes. You can cover the pot if you want to cook the bananas, but make sure not to overcook. The skin of the bananas turns dark and you will see the skin separate a little from the flesh.

3. Cook the bananas completely and peel them.

4. Using a grater, grate all the boiled bananas and keep them aside.

5. Grind the coconut and green chilies to a coarse paste. You may use a little water if needed.

5. In a pan, heat the oil, add the mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves. When the seeds splutter, add the grated bananas, and then the coconut-chili paste.

6. Saute this mixture on a low flame for about 5-7 minutes till the bananas are evenyl seasoned.

7. You may add the juice of half a lime/lemon to taste. This step is optional depending on your liking to add some sourness to this dish. I didn’t add the lime juice the first time, but will do it the next time to see if it makes this dish more moist.

This is best enjoyed with rice and mor kuzhambu or South indian (Kerala) style kadhi (buttermilk stew), which was our lunch that day. Mor Kuzahmbu is another of Uma’s famous dishes, the recipe of which I will post shortly.

Despite the gazillion varieties of cheese that we find in the grocery stores here in the US, my favorite has been our very own Amul cheese for its unique taste. Yes, I know, I have a patriotic bone in my body that makes me say that, but try American or Swiss cheese slices in a masala cheese toast or chili cheese sandwich and you will know what I’m talking about. I’ve tried to take Mozzarella cheese and add a little more salt to it (Amul cheese is saltier than other cheeses), but it doesn’t come close.

This version of chili cheese sandwich that I will share has been a lunch box staple during my school and college going days, and now, my son loves this version over a plain grilled cheese.

 Ingredients:

4 slices of white or wheat bread (I do not remove the crust just to get my son into eating the crust, and I also think the crust is the crunchiest part)

Red onion – 1

Green chilies – 2-3 (I use the Thai chili or the small ones available in the Asian grocery stores, but you may also use serrano peppers)

Salt to taste m(this is optional, Amul cheese tends to be salty by itself so salt may not be needed)

Chili powder or cayenne pepper (optional)

1. Spread some butter on one side of the bread slices.

2. Chop the onions and green chilies finely.

3. Grate the cheese cubes, or use 1 cheese slice per sandwich

4. Mix the grated cheese with the onion and green chilies/cayenne pepper.

5. Preheat a sandwich maker and place the bread slices with the buttered sides on top. (You can also make this sandwich on a stovetop skillet/grill.)

6. Add the cheese mixture in between the slices and close the sandwich maker. Cook till the slices are evenly browned. The butter adds to the crispiness of the sandwich and the sandwich maker helps seal the sides.

7. Enjoy your sandwich with ketchup or with any chutney.